Yanks GM supports Boss’ bid for Hall of Fame

CARLSBAD, Calif. — In an endorsement that would have made his old Boss proud, Brian Cashman expressed his support for George Steinbrenner’s Hall of Fame induction and cast doubt on the Hall’s election process in one fell swoop. The last general manager hired by Steinbrenner (in 1998), offered his “warts and all” support of the Yankees’ principal owner from 1973 until his 2010 passing. On Monday, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced Steinbrenner’s inclusion on a “Today’s Game Era” ballot, the results of which will be revealed on Dec. 9. This marks Steinbrenner’s fourth time under consideration.

“I think he is a Hall of Famer,” Cashman said. “Whether he’s been inducted yet or not, I think it’s important. I believe that committee and the people who have the power of votes would be hard-pressed not to acknowledge this was a transformative figure in all of sports, not just baseball. I can’t imagine that he doesn’t warrant [induction], but again, it’s very political at times, this voting. Just like everything else. So there’s some powerful people that view it differently, I’m sure.

“But again, he was a transformative figure in this sport. Sometimes in a really good way and sometimes in a really difficult way.”

The committee that does have a vote is comprised of members of the Hall of Fame, baseball executives and writers.

The Baseball Writers Association of America announced that Yankees third baseman Miguel Andujar and second baseman Gleyber Torres are finalists for the American League Rookie of the Year award along with Angels pitcher/designated hitter Shohei Ohtani.

The Yankees’ decision to bring back Brett Gardner at the reduced price of $7.5 million for 2019, after turning down his $12.5 million team option, resulted significantly from their belief that overwork contributed to Gardner’s calamitous second half, Cashman said.

“I think he provides a lot to us defensively and offensively despite obviously the second half. We had a lot of injuries and we weren’t able to back off of Gardy a little bit like we would have liked to,” Cashman said. “That’s the way he is. He was there for us regardless. It’s good to have him back in the fold for the 2019 campaign.”